Tina Seelig: Professor at Stanford University and Best-Selling Author

Growing up, Tina excelled at math and science, so she aspired to become a doctor. However, her interests changed after being exposed to a myriad of different fields throughout high school and college, and ultimately trained as a neuroscientist. As she mentioned in our interview, “When we are kids, we only know about the things we experience.” Currently, Tina serves as the Professor of the Practice in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. She is the author of 17 books, including What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 and Creativity Rules. We can all learn from her growth mindset and attitude towards failure. Professor Seelig’s insight on the importance of risk-taking has empowered me to operate outside of my comfort zone.

When was a time you failed, and what did you learn from that experience? 

We all fail from the moment we are born, learning from trial and error. In fact, I have my students write failure resumes to capture what they learn from all the mistakes they make. No one rides a bike the first time that they try. No one walks the first time that they try. Why do we expect adults who are doing complicated things for the first time to make no mistakes? It's just unrealistic. We need to realize that failures provide us with a lot of data and information, so we can learn to not repeat them. I have learned so much from each mistake that I am so glad I had those experiences. When I was younger and I failed, I would think about it over, and over, and over again. But, once I started writing what I learned from each experience, I rarely repeated the mistake. You should just own the failure, rather than being embarrassed. 

Who is do you admire?

I look up to a lot of people, and there are different things that inspire me about them. I am inspired by some people’s dedication. I am impressed by some people’s big ideas. Instead of having just one role model, I just look at lots of different people and look at what they are doing that inspires me. You can learn so much from everyone. 

When was a time you wanted to give up, and how did you persevere through it? 

There have been times where I have given up, and I have regretted it. When I feel like I have hit a wall, I remind myself to take a deep breath; I remind myself that the next day I will be able to find a way to get through it. When I was younger, I gave up on a lot of things when the path became unclear. I love the early stage of a new project, and sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed by all the details later in the process. For example, when the internet started, I wanted to create a website for kids to learn about science and experiments. The site, called Super Science Site, became really popular, and all these kids started writing to me for help with experiments and homework. I became overwhelmed with all their requests, and I shut down the site. Of course, I shouldn’t have done that - I should have thought about other ways to react. I’ve learned that when things get hard, you need to take a deep breath and then figure out how to respond. 

What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?

I am a huge fan of taking small risks as opposed to big risks. We should take little risks every single day that gets us out of our comfort zone. Also, keep in mind that most people try to squeeze as much risk out of what they do. When someone jumps out of an airplane with a parachute, they do not feel that it's a big risk. They make sure the parachute is packaged correctly, that the plane is in good shape, and that they are with trained professionals. They are confident that everything will work out well, and it doesn’t feel like a big risk. 

If you did not have to worry about money, how would you choose to spend your life?

I’m pretty happy with my life. I have a good job, a wonderful family, and a great support system. I do think it is really important to reevaluate your life frequently. You should ask yourself, ‘Am I too tired? Am I too busy? Am I feeling good about my contributions to the world? Am I spending enough time with those I care about? Do I feel physically and mentally healthy?’ If you don’t feel satisfied, you need to make a change. You can start by making small changes, like getting up later or earlier, or not working after a certain time. I encourage everyone to evaluate their own life and make changes accordingly. You should reflect once a day on whether you are moving in the right direction. 

What advice do you have for others who aspire to be like you?

One of the most important characteristics to have is curiosity. Asking lots of questions and gaining exposure to a wide range of things is very important. In this day and age, there is no excuse for not following your interests since the internet provides a window into any field. Also, one of the important lessons I teach my students is when you get a job, you don’t just get the job, you have the keys to the building. You have access to all of the people and the opportunities inside. There is a whole new set of possibilities that will emerge through each door. 

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

I really wish people were more empathetic. We judge people way too quickly. We make assumptions about the things that we see and jump to conclusions. I have been doing a lot of teaching at San Quentin State Prison and I have heard so many compelling stories. I fully understand that the men should have made better decisions, but they were placed in circumstances where it would have been difficult to have a different path. They might not have had others guiding them nor helping them through a very difficult time. One of my favorite quotes is, “You should treat everyone as if they have a broken heart, because they probably do.” You never know what people are going through in life, so you have to be mindful of their personal hardships.